OT - What to Do???

[SherryG]

We are planning our next trip to Florida for May 2010 and trying to decide what to do while we are there. DD will turn 11 during our trip and DS will be 8 and a half. We did Disney on our last trip and are looking at (possible) other options for this time. Looking at Sea World and Busch Gardens (but wondering about all the "not included" prices) when you buy your tickets. Also any feedback on Universal Studios and whether it would be age appropriate for the kids or not? We may just stick with Disney but would appreciate info from people who have done these other parks!! Thanks for all of your help!

 

[MouseGirl]

We have taken our children to Universal Studios twice (once when they were 10 and 8 and then two years later when they were 12 and 10). We love WDW too but decided to try Universal, and the kids just loved it. We stayed onsite at one of their hotels, and when you do that you get Front of the Line access to all the rides - it's like an unlimited fastpass to any ride as many times as you want. It totally spoiled us. We also visited Discovery Cove on one of our trips, and while it is a little pricey we still talk about it as one of the best days we have ever spent together as a family. Sea World was fun too, and they have a new waterpark also beside Sea World called Aquatica that friends of ours have tried and highly recommended. No shortage of interesting options in the Orlando area! Best of luck with your trip planning.

 

[wdw-ocd]

I completely agree with MouseGirl about US and DC! My dh and oldest kids actually prefer the rides at US to WDW and my younger kids love to cool off and play at the Curious George water play area at US. We've always bought the $99/person for 7 days at both parks (US and IOA) tickets which is a great price and allows us to tour without feeling rushed. The tickets came in very handy this summer when my older dks wanted to see the new Harry Potter movie- We did our favourite rides at US as a whole family and then dd8 and I got to do her favourites at both parks in the afternoon while dh took our older kids to the theatre at the CityWalk.

We also did DC this summer and it was definitely our family's favourite! It does seem pricey but it's an amazing place to swim with rays, tropical fish, and dolphins! The cost also includes breakfast, lunch, drinks, and snacks all day long. You can also choose to buy and extra 2 weeks of unlimited admission to Sea World, Bush Gardens, or Aquatica. We chose Bush Gardens and had fun there too!

Have fun planning!

 

[SherryG]

Bumping!! Anyone else's opinions???

 

[RJS]

Another vote for Universal (US and IOA)!!!

We always do Disney everytime we go to Florida, but have recently started adding Universal and LOVE it in a very different way then Disney. Our trip is now not complete unless it includes both.

Staying onsite does give you the benefit of the FOTL passes which is totally awesome...not sure what crowds are like in May though, you may want to investigate that more and decide if the extra cost to stay onsite at Universal is worth it or not.

Haven't been to SeaWorld yet. Did Busch Gardens a long time ago, too long ago to comment really.

We also recommend a day at the beach, or visiting Kennedy Space Centre.

Have fun planning!

 

[RJS]

Oops, forgot I was on the Canadian board here....we have also always 'purchased' our Universal tickets by using our AIR MILES. If you are a collector, it's worth watching the AIR MILES site (if you collect) for the 'deals of the week' on theme parks. We get the unlimited 7 day pass for just over 800 miles each, but it does go on 'special' once in awhile. I believe the other theme parks are on there as well.

 

[formill]

We went to Sea World, Aquatica and The Magic Kingdom last year with our kids- ages- 15,12, 5 and 5 (twins) they all LOVED Sea World -the older two preferred it over the Magic Kingdom. Aquatica was good too- I liked that they had an area with slides that were just the right size for 5 year olds. We are trying Universal Studios/ Islands of Adventure this December. We also went to Gatorland and really liked it for the price of it- the boardwalk is beautiful and we spent a long time just watching all the alligators and birds.

 

[maggieb9975]

Another vote for Universal !! My girls loved it there. My oldest who is 27 now has been 3-4 times and loves it as much as Disney and my 17 yr olds love it way more then Disney...If your kids are Harry Potter fans you may be lucky enough to have some if not all of the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter open

One of my DD's (the huge HP fan) and I are going next Nov 2010 to check HP out...